This thread may have satisfied my itch. Bolting on an aluminum monstrosity is not what I want to do, nor is spending a bunch of money on engineering a fiberglass extension. As stated in a prior post, many of these extensions get done without cutting into the hull and I haven't heard of a failure. That said, I don't want to be the first either. I am switching my focus to how to tow an 18' aluminum runabout behind me. There is a thread on that somewhere. Over and out.